The invention relates to armrests for vehicle seats and particularly to an armrest which can be moved to varying positions of adjustment, including one wherein it constitutes an extension of the seat bottom. Meiller U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,088 is one example of such an armrest. Another example is a tractor seat recently sold by John Deere Company which has an armrest pivotably attached at two points to two links carried by the seat frame so as to permit movement of the armrest to several generally parallel positions.
An armrest is a comfort feature that appeals to many purchasers of vehicle seats. To facilitate access to the seat during entry and exit of the occupant, the typical armrest is usually pivoted to the side of the seat back so it can be moved about a fixed axis between a vertical storage position and a generally horizontal use position. The use position can sometimes be pivotally adjusted slightly relative to horizontal by adjustable stop members to suit occupant preferences or to help accommodate occupant height differences. Certain vehicles, such as farm implements, are typically operated by one person but are sometimes used to transport a helper to the site of the day's work. The seat widening arms discussed above permit more than one person to occupy the seat in such a transport situation and then the arms can be raised to their use position to provide comfort to the operator. In the case of the aforementioned tractor seat, the armrest cannot be retracted to a vertical non-use position and thus, the seat occupant must either maneuver around the rather large armrest to enter or exit the vehicle or must slide himself over the additional width of the armrest, a rather awkward procedure. In some situations, the occupant does not wish to be hindered by armrests when he must be frequently turning to check operations going on behind him but would appreciate the side restraint provided by the hip support type seats often used in off-the-road equipment. Such equipment is often steered by levers located below the sides of the seats and the seats have short angled armrest portions on the top of the fixed hip supports.